Former MAACCI President and wife charged for abuse of domestic workers

KLANG: Ketheeswaran M Kanagaratnam, better known as Kenneth
Eswaran or KK Eswaran, and Vivienne Ketheeswaran were jointly charged with the
offence under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling
of Migrants Act 2007. They pleaded not guilty when the charge was read out to
them before judge Roszianayati Ahmad.

Kenneth, 58, and Vivienne, 63, were accused of exploiting their
domestic workers for the purposes of forced labour from October 2012 to March
2019.

The former president of the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry and his wife were charged with three counts of
exploitation and forced labour at the Sessions Court today in relation to their
three Indonesian domestic workers.

If found guilty, they face a maximum jail term of 15 years and a
fine of not more than RM500,000.

Roszianayati set bail at RM50,000 with one surety for each
defendant and ordered for their passports to be surrendered to the court. She
also set May 3 for the next hearing.

The three domestic workers, between 25 and 41 years of age, had
reportedly been working at the couple’s home in Country Heights, Kajang for
seven years, four years and six months, respectively.

They allegedly endured years of abuse before seeking help from
the Indonesian embassy on March 22 while the couple was abroad.

Police said all three claimed to have been punched and slapped,
with their salaries and passports withheld.

ACP Ahmad Dzaffir was previously reported as saying that the
three women escaped by climbing the fence of their employers’ home. They were
assisted by an unknown man who brought them to the embassy.
However, he said medical checks on the women showed no
sign of physical, sexual or mental abuse. The women were reportedly sent to a
safe house after an interim protection order granted by the Magistrate’s Court.